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No. 208.
THE EARL OF ELGIN to GOVERNOR SIR M. NATHAN.
(Paraphrase.)
(Sent 1.40 p.m., February 9, 1906.)
TELEGRAM.
[Answered by No. 214.]
Matter most urgent. It is proposed to issue loan at once. Do you see any objection to stating in prospectus that the loan is required to reimburse & sum of £1,100,000 lent to Viceroy to enable him to redeem a concession for a railway from Hankow to Canton, and that the agreement with the Viceroy can be seen on applica- tion at office of Crown Agents ?
Reply required to-morrow.
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GENTLEMEN,
No. 209.
COLONIAL OFFICE to CROWN AGENTS.
Downing Street, February 9, 1906.
I AM directed by the Earl of Elgin to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 30th of January,* and to inform you that he approves your taking steps to proceed with the construction of the Canton-Kowloon Railway on the lines indicated in the reports of the Consulting Engineers.
3. I am now awaiting the result of the further pressure on the Chinese Govern- ment referred to in Sir Edward Satow's telegram (I.) of the 10th instant.
I have, &c.,
M. NATHAN,
Governor.
Enclosure 1 in No. 211,
PARAPHRASE OF TELEGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE.
I.
H18 BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S MINISTER, Peking, to GOVERNOR, Hong Kong. (Despatched 1.15 p.m.: Received 2.30 p.m., January 10, 1906.)
No. 1. Please ask the British and Chinese Corporation to show you and also send direct to the Foreign Office, so as to save time, à copy of their letter to me of the 27th December, and the enclosed minutes.
I am pressing the Chinese Government to direct the Viceroy to discuss the draft agreement, and I am giving them a copy and translation for them to discuss among themselves.
A copy of my report to the Foreign Office will be sent to you by mail to-
morrow. Satow.
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No. 210.
I am, &c.,
C. P. LUCAS.
II.
GOVERNOR, Hong Kong, to HIS BRITANNIC Majesty's MinISTER, Peking.
(Despatched 10.30 a.m., January 11, 1906.)
Your telegram of yesterday. On the 30th of December I sent to the Colonial Office copy of minutes, enclosed in the letter of the Corporation of the 27th December.-NATHAN.
SIR,
THE EARL OF ELGIN to GOVERNOR SIR M. NATHAN. [Answered by No. 236.]
(Confidential.)
Downing Street, February 9, 1906.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your confidential despatch of the 20th of October, and to forward to you copies of correspondence with the Crown Agents with regard to the construction of the Canton-Kowloon Railway.
4858
(Secret.)
No. 211.
I have, &c.,
ELGIN.
GOVERNOR SIR M. NATHAN to THE EARL OF ELGIN, (Received February 10, 1908.)
Government House, Hong Kong, January 11, 1906. SIR.
IN continuation of my secret despatch of the 29th December, 1905,§ on the subject of negotiations for the completion of a loan agreement and of a joint working agreement in connection with the proposed Canton-Kowloon Railway, I have the honour to enclose, for your information and record, a paraphrase of further telegraphic communication with His Britannic Majesty's Minister at Peking.
2. I also enclose a copy of the Viceroy's reply, through the Consul-General, to my letter of December 28th, of which a copy went to you in my last despatch,§ and of a further letter I addressed to Mr. Scott on the 7th January. Copies of this correspondence have been sent by me to Peking.
• No. 205.
† No. 171.
Nos. 205 and 209.
No. 202.
SIR,
(Translation.)
Enclosure 2 in No. 211.
VICEROY to HIS MAJESTY'S CONSUL-General.
Canton, December 30, 1905. I BEG to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 29th instant on the subject of the Canton-Kowloon Railway, in which you state that you have received a despatch from the Governor of Hong Kong, to the effect that he considers my attitude in this matter unfriendly.
With reference to this railway it was proposed that it should be built by British Lerchants on behalf of China. Although Sheng, the Director-General of Railways, had already, in the 25th year of Kwang-sii (1899), arranged a draft agreement with the representatives of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson, and Company, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, yet it was only called a
"draft agree- ment," which, of course, has nothing in common with a
"final agreement." Moreover, the fifth clause of the draft agreement provides that Sheng, the Director-General of Railways, shall consult with the Viceroy and Governor of this province, and should any difficulties be found, these were to be altered and amended. Accordingly the Viceroy and Governor of this province are free to determine the manner in which the railway is to be built.
The present situation is very different from former times. Were I to give way in the least, not only would the country and gentry be abusive and obstructive, but there would be more evil results in other ways. The relations between Great Britain and China are most close and sincere, and you will therefore be able to extend to me your consideration.
With reference to Messrs. Jardine, Matheson, and Company, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, these firms have been successfully trading in China for many years, and they have reaped so many profits that they cannot be numbered. I presume your Government does not wish to look to the profit of
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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